Draft gear



J. L. ELER DRAFT GEAR Sept. 26, 1944.

Filed on. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVEZTOR Jbha via/e27;

ATTORNEY J. L. ELER DRAFT GEAR Sept. 26, 1944.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 20, 1943 ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 26, 1944 DRAFT GEAR John L. Eler, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application October 20, 1943, Serial No. 506,934

6 Claims.

This invention relates to railway draft gear and more particularly pertains to improvements in the device shown and described in an application, Serial No. 408,488, filed August 2.7, 1941, of Archwood J. Kashubeck, Hubert L. Spence and John L. Eler.

The present invention is directed to means for preventing improper assembly of the friction shoes. Another feature resides in the cooperation of the aforesaid means with other parts of the draft gear to facilitate assembly of the device.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view of a draft gear embodying my invention, shown partly in elevation and partly in section taken on line ll of Fig. 3, the parts beingin normal position.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the parts. in fully compressed position.

Figure 3 is an elevational view at right angles to Fig. 1 with part of one of the housings broken away.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is a view of the shoe operating plunger showing the method of assembly of the friction shoes; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the friction shoes.

The draft gear disclosed in the drawings gen- 1 erally comprises a pair of housings l and H. Housing ID has a pair of rockers l2 mounted on seats 13 on end wall l4 adapted to rotate a limited amount with respect to the housing. Each rocker comprises a transversely extending base portion l and a longitudinally extending arm l6 having a sloping friction surface ll. Spring seats I8 extend between the rockers on each side of arm [6 and support one end of springs 19. Surfaces on the rockers are sloped away from the line of contact with spring seats l8 so that springs [9 will always tend to rotate the rockers toward the center of the draft gear.

Shoes 2| engage friction surfaces 11 on the rockers and each is formed with a cylindrical seat 22 adapted to receive a similarly shaped projection 220. on one end of a shoe actuating post or plunger 23. Projecting inwardly from the side walls of housing ID are shelves 24 which overlie surfaces 25 on the plunger and limit outward movement of the plunger relative to the housing. Spring seat 26 rests on outer side of shelves 24 and supports one end of spring 21. Housing ll receives the opposite ends of springs 19 and 2'! and plunger 23. Springs l9 and 21 normally tend to force housings l0 and l l apart until such movement is limited by engagement of the heads 3| of bolts 30 with housing II and engagement of nuts 32 with housing In.

The end of plunger 23 contained in housing H is normally spaced from end wall 33 of said housing until a predetermined amount of movement of the housings toward each other takes place. Thereafter, wall 33 engages the plunger and it moves with housing ll, sliding shoes 2| along friction surfaces ll of the rockers, causing the latter to rotate against the resistance of springs l9.

Projecting laterally from the sides of the lower end of plunger 23 are lugs 35, surfaces 25 of which are adapted to engage the under sides of shelves 24 to limit movement of the plunger in one direction. Spaced from lugs 35 are projections 36, one on each side of the plunger, which cooperate with the shoes for the purpose now to be described. On each shoe is a pair of arms 31 extending inwardly toward the opposing shoes between lugs 35 and projections 36. At the end of each arm is an upwardly projecting t lug 38, which, when the draft gear is in released position, lies between a pair of lugs 35 on the adjacent side of the plunger. Arms 31 and lugs 38 are normally spaced from lugs 35 and projections 36 sufiiciently to permit operation of the draft gear. However, when assembling the shoes and plunger in housing Ill the shoes are first supported on the plunger in the manner shown at the right in Fig. 5. In this position each of lugs 38 engages a lug 35 and projections 36 are in engagement with the shoes substantially at the juncture of arm 31 with the shoes. The shoes at the left in Fig. 5 illustrate the method of assembling the shoe by rotating arms 31 and lugs 38 between lugs 35 and projections 36 until the position is reached as shown at the right of the figure. With the shoes resting on the plunger as above described, these parts may be lowered into housing [0 at one side of shelves 24 until the shoes are below the shelves after which the plunger and shoes can be moved as a unit to the center of the device. It will be observed that the shoes are free to rotate, so far as lugs 35 and 38 and related projections 36 are concerned, so as to rotate from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2 during compression of the draft gear.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scopeof the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A draft gear comprising a pair of followers, spring means normally forcing said followers apart, friction members adapted to rotate in one of saidfollowers against the resistance of said spring means, friction shoes engaging said friction members, a shoe actuating member engaging said shoes, spaced lugs on said shoe actuating member, and means on said shoes engageable with said lugs for retaining said shoes on said shoe actuating member during assembly of said parts with said followers.

2. In a draft gear a pair of followers, spring means between said followers, friction members engaging said spring means, friction shoes engaging said friction members, a shoe actuating member engaging said shoes having spaced lugs thereon, and means on said shoes engageable with said lugs for retaining said shoes on said shoe actuating member during assembly ofsaid parts.

3. In a draft gear a pair of followers, spring means between said followers, friction members engaging said spring means, friction shoes engaging said friction members, a shoe actuating member engaging said shoes, laterally projecting lugs on one end of said shoe actuating member,

and means on said shoes extending between said lugs and engageable therewith foromaintaining said shoes on said shoe actuating memher during assembly of said parts.

4. In a draft gear a, pair of followers, spring means between said followers, friction members engaging said spring means, friction shoes engaging said friction members, a shoe actuating member engaging said shoes, laterally projecting lugs on said shoe actuating member, and an arm on each of said shoes extending between said lugs for maintaining said shoes in position during assembly of said parts in the draft gear.

5. In a draft gear a pair of followers, spring means between said followers, friction members engaging said spring means, friction shoes engaging said friction members, a shoe actuating member engaging said shoes, an arm on each shoe extending inwardly of said draft gear, and means on said shoe actuating member on each side of said arms adapted to limit pivotal movement of said shoes with respect to said shoe actuating member.

6. In a draft gear a pair of followers, spring means between said followers, friction members engaging said spring means, friction shoes engaging said friction members, a shoe actuating member engaging said shoes, a pair of arms on each shoe extending inwardly of said draft gear and a plurality of lugs adjacent said arms adapted to limit pivotal movement of said shoes with respect to said shoe actuating member.

JOHN L. ELER. 

